Orthopedic appliance



y 1934- v. L. CLOSSON 1,959,050

ORTHOPEDIG APPLIANCE Filed Aug, 18, 1930 IN V EN TOR. krzzozz L. Cloaaon ATTORNEY-1 Patented May 15, 1934 ORTHOPEDIC APPLIANCE Vernon L. Closson, Kansas City, Mo., assignor to Walk-Easy Foot Rest Mfg. 00., St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application August 18, 1930, Serial No. 476,005

6 Claims. (01. 36-71) My invention relates to orthopedic appliances, and more particularly to a device for supporting the longitudinal arch of the foot and massaging the main muscles of the foot that support the arch so as to exercise and build up the same and increase the blood circulation in the foot.

My invention comprises a yieldable member that is provided with thin forward and rear end portions and which is mounted in the shoe under 10 the heel and longitudinal arch portions of the foot with a central thicker portion normally bowed upwardly by means of a tension strip on the under side of the device. Preferably, the main body portion of the device is of sponge rubber and the tension strip is of leather, rubber, or similar material.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide a device of the above mentioned character that is so constructed that the same will stay in the 29 position in which it is placed in the shoe, with the rear or heel portion thereof resting against the back of the heel receiving portion of the shoe,

' and with the forward portion thereof lying immediately back of the metatarsal arch or ball of the foot. This is of considerable importance because if the appliance slips out of position, particularly in a forward direction, it would be harmful because it would not be in the right place to accomplish its purpose, and would also cause 30 pressure on the top of the foot at or near the toes and on the top of the foot at the longitudinal arch, causing corns and blisters instead of preventing them.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide a device of the above mentioned character that is reduced in cross Section at the heel portion thereof to prevent slipping up and down of the heel of the foot in the heel of the shoe, thus preventing wearing out of the hosiery due to such movement and preventing the formation of blisters on the heel of the foot.

It is another purpose of my invention to provide a device comprising a sponge rubber body portion skived at the forward end portion thereof, with a tension strip of leather, rubber or other material on the bottom thereof to maintain the device of uniform overall length so that the forward and rear ends do not move out of position while walking and while the foot is in repose, with the central portion bowed or arched upwardly by the tension strip, but adapted to flex and reflex to massage the main muscles of the foot supporting the arch to exercise the same and increase the circulation of blood in the foot. By

5 increasing the circulation of blood in the foot,

the sweating of the feet is prevented or materially reouced. By massaging the muscles and nerves the same are strengthened and the feet restored to normal condition.

My improved orthopedic appliance is made to fit any size shoe, and is placed in the shoe with the tension strip down and the forward skived end portion in engagement with the insole of the'shoe just back of the metatarsal arch or ball of the foot, and the rear end againstthe rear wall of the heel portion of the shoe, thus placing the bowed up portion under the longitudinal arch of the foot to support the longitudinal arch and prevent complete flattening of the foot when supporting the body.

The device is further provided for the purpose of reducing the spreading of the foot at the metatarsal arch and makes possible the wearing of a smaller size shoe with comfort, due to this decrease in the width and length of the foot.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide means in the bowed up or arched portion of the device for causing a circulation of air to ventilate and keep the foot sanitary, this being preferably accomplished by providing holes in said bowed or arched portion, which create a pumping effect as'walking is done, circulating air all around the foot inside the shoe.

By providing a device of the above mentioned character with a relatively thick sponge rubber 85 portion under the arch of the foot, and tapered or thin end portions, an extra cushion effect is created, between thereduced end portions, under the longitudinal arch of the foot, and this portion being arched or bowed, gives an orthopedic exercise to the longitudinal arch of the foot and the muscles and nerves without changing the length of the device when pressure is put on the same.

this gripping action to take place.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description of the drawing proceeds. I desire to have it understood, however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the particu.- lar details shown or described, but that I intend to include as part of my invention all such obvious changes and modifications as would occur to a 119 person skilled in this art and as would fall within the scope ofthe claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved orthopedic appliance.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the device in the position it would have when not in use. Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.-

Fig. 4 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section showing my improved orthopedic appliance in position under a foot, 2. portion of the shoe being shown, the position of the device being that when the foot is in repose or when no weight is being supported by the foot, and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the appliance'in the position it assumes when the weight of the body is supported by the foot, as in walking.

Referring in detail to the drawing, my improved orthopedic appliance comprises a sponge rubber body portion 10, which is provided with a skived or tapered end portion 11, and a skived or tapered rear end portion 12, the rear end portion 12, or

the portion thereof that underlies the heel of the foot being of not more than half the thickness of the central part 9, of the body portion 10, or that part that underlies the longitudinal arch of the foot, while the forward end portion 11, tapers from a thickness equal to that of the portion 9 under the longitudinal arch of the foot to a thin forward edge 8, that is substantially a. knife edge. Overlying the main sponge rubber body portion 10 of the device is a covering strip 13 of leather or similar material, which extends from portion to the rear end portion thereof, being of the same shape in plan and area as the body portion 10, and being secured thereto in face to face relation throughout. The facing or covering 13,

and the body portion 10, are provided with a plur'ality of openings-14, extending therethrough in the portion thereof that underlies the longitudinal arch of the foot. The tension strip 15, which is preferably made of rubber, or similar material, is secured in face to face relation to the body portion 10 of the device at the heel portion 12 thereof, as indicated at 7, and is also secured to the under side of the body portion 10 immediately to the rear of the skived portion 11, as indicated at 16, thus leaving the central portion 17 of said tension strip detached from the body portion 10, and being somewhat shorter than the body portion 10 between the point 18, where the same is attached to the body portion at the rear thereof to the point 19, where it is attached to the bodypo tion at the forward end thereof, said strip .will cause the central portion 9 of the body portion of the device to be bowed upwardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, causing the same to assume a shape such that it will substantially conform to the shape of the longitudinal arch of the normal foot when in a shoe, as-indicated in Fig. 4, when in a position of repose or whenthe weight of the 5 body is not being supported by the foot, and the strip 15 is particularly provided to maintain the appliance always of the same length and allow the flexing and reflexing of the central portion to be obtained without causing a change in the length of the appliance, and thus preventing any crowding thereof forwardly in the shoe while in use. When the device is in use it is placed in the shoe with the tension strip 15 downwardly. and '15 with the rear curved. edge portion 20 thereof end portion at the central portion 9 thereof. the extreme .forward thinned edge of the body against the rear wall 21 of the heel portion of the shoe, the central portion 17 of the tension strip then lying substantially in engagement with the inner surface of the insole 24 of the shoe under the longitudinal arch 22 of the foot and the skived forward end portion 11 engaging with the insole of the shoe, as will be evident from Fig.

4, so that the exposed sponge rubber on the under side 23 of said skived portion 11 will be in engagement with said insole and will act as a means 35 to grip the same, this gripping action being increased due to the action of the tension strip 15, which will tend to pull down the forward end portion 11 of the appliance into engagement with the insole 24 of the shoe. The forward and rear end portions of the device being tapered, these will furthermore be wedged between the foot and the insole of the shoe when the foot is.in place in the shoe, due to the tapered character thereof, so as to further hold the device against slipping relative to the shoe and the foot.

When the foot is in a position such that it will carry the weight of the body, such as in walking, the device will assume the position shown in Fig.

5, the longitudinal arch 22 of the foot being depressed somewhat, my appliance will be forced downwardly into engagement'with the insole of the shoe, and will lie substantially in face to face relation thereto, the central portion 9 thereof being somewhat higher than the ends thereof because of the fact that the body portion 10 is substantially twice as thick at the portion 9 than at the heel end portion thereof, and being much more than twice as thick as the forward The tendency will be for the upper surface of the appliance to have a rolling contact along the bottom of the longitudinal arch of the foot as the device flexes up and down as the weight of the body is placed on the foot and removed therefrom, thus causing the depression and the upward flexing of my appliance, which rolling contact of the bowed up part of the device along under the arch of the foot causes a massaging of the same which will strengthen the muscles of the longitudinal arch of the foot, and will increase the circulation of the blood in the foot due to such massaging.

The appliance is made to substantially fit the shoe in which it is placed, thus gradually increasing in width from the rear end 20 to the forward edge 8, which preferably has rounded corners 25, as shown in Fig. 1.

The appliance will furthermore shorten the overall length of the foot when it is in place in the shoe over what it would be if it were not in place therein, by causing the foot to be arched upwardly at the longitudinal arch portion in a more natural position than what it would ordinarily assume, and will furthermore reduce the width of the foot at the ball portion or metatarsal arch by reducing the spreading of the foot at this point. The provision of the holes 14, causes a pumping of air to take place as the sponge rubber body portion 10 is compressed 1 0 and as the bowed up central portion of the device flexes up and down, which causes a circulation of air around the entire foot.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:-

1. An orthopedic appliance comprising a 'yieldable, flexible, compressible body portion having a heel portion of reduced thickness and a thinned forward end portion and a tension strip tending to bow the central portion of said thickness overlying the heel of the shoe, a thicker cushioning portion overlying the arch of the shoe and a thinned forward end portion tapering in thickness toward the forward edge thereof lying immediately to the rear of the ball portion 30 of the shoe, a top covering ply on said body portion, and an elastic tension stripunderlying said body portion and tending to bow the central 'cushioning portion of said appliance upwardly and having the forward end thereof terminatin immediately to the rear of the tapered forward end of said body portion to expose the sponge rubber at said forward end and hold the same in gripping engagement with saidshoe, said cushi'oning portion and said covering ply having air passages therethrough.

.rubber body portion skived-on the under side at opposite ends thereof to provide a heel engaging portion of reduced thickness, a relatively thick central cushioning portion and a forward end portion tapering in thickness to a thinned forward edge, a covering ply co-extensive with said body portion secured to the top face thereof and a tension strip secured to the under face of said body portion to tend to how the central portion thereof upwardly, said tension strip terminating at its forward end rear'wardly of the forward skived portion of said body portion to leave the skived portion of the sponge rubber exposed on the under side of said appliance.

3. The combination with a shoe, of an orthopedic appliance having a sponge rubber body portion provided with a rear end portion of reduced thickness overlying the heel of the shoe, a thicker cushioning. portion overlying thearch of theshoe and a thinned forward end portion tapering in' thickness toward the forward edge thereof lying immediately to the rear of the ball portion of the shoe, atop covering ply on said body portion and a tension strip underlying said body portion and tending to how the central cushioning portion of said appliance upwardly and having the forward end thereof terminating immediately to the rear of the tapered forward end of said body portion to expose the sponge rubber at said forward end and hold the same in gripping engagement with said shoe.

4. The combination with a shoe of an orthopedic appliance having a sponge rubber body portion provided with a reariend portion of reduced 5. Anorthopedic appliance having a sponge rubber body portion skived on the under side at opposite ends thereof to provide a heel engaging portion of reduced thickness, a relatively thick central cushioning portion and a forward end portion tapering in thickness to a thinned forward edge, a covering ply co-extensive with said body-portion secured to the top face thereof, and an elastic rubber tension strip secured to the under face of said body portion to tend to how the central portion thereof upwardly, said tension strip terminating at its forward end rearwardly' of the forward skived portion of said body portion to leave the skived portion of the sponge rubber exposed on the under side of said appliance.

6. An orthopedic appliance of the kind described comprising, a body of sponge rubber tapered at its forward end, and means for bowing said body to maintain the bare sponge rubber of the tapered portion in engagement with the sole of a shoe substantially throughout the area of the taper. v 

